Trois Rivières International
Festival of Poetry: A Retrospective

In the early 1980s, Gaston Bellemare, co-founder of the poetry press Écrits des Forges, had a flash: It was time to “create an event,” a way to instill verse into the collective heart of the public. Disappointed with poetry’s low visibility in the media, he decided that such an event would have to be big enough to generate widespread public interest. His conclusion? Bring poetry to the people—and on their own turf.

In the fall of 1985, a year after the founding of Fondation Les Forges Inc., the first “Festival de la Poésie” took place in Trois Rivières. In fact, it was during this inaugural festival that the late Félix Leclerc, Quebec icon and Poet-of-Honour that year, prophetically declared Trois Rivières « World Poetry Capital ».  In its first year, the festival attracted 80 poets from Quebec, but more importantly, it drew an audience of 5000 poetry lovers!

Since then, the figures have skyrocketed. In 1991, after a mere five years, the festival went international. These days, poets and journalists stream in from all corners of the world: Portugal, Mexico, France, the United States, Australia, and Lebanon to name just a few of the many countries cognizant of the enormous visibility that the festival affords them. The crowds, too, have multiplied with the growth of the festival. In 2005, nearly 40,000 people attended some 350 events planned for dozens of venues across the city.

In 22 years, the Trois Rivières International Festival of Poetry, led by Gaston Bellemare and Maryse Baribeau, has become, not only a dream-come-true, but a veritable literary Happening. Trois Rivières is now the world’s window on poetry, from both the public’s and media’s perspective. How could it be any other way for the Poetry Capital of the World?